Alaska state officials have advanced the start of the official fire season to March 17 in Southcentral, Southeast, and Western Alaska due to unusually low snowpack and warmer temperatures. The change aims to mitigate increased wildfire risks in these populated regions.
The National Weather Service says the city has had no snow at this point in the season only twice before. On average, that doesn’t usually happen until halfway through April. Last year, which turned out to be the second snowiest on record, more than 2 feet blanketed the ground on March 3.
The 90th annual Fur Rendezvous Festival kicked off Thursday around Anchorage and is expected to feature its traditional late-winter celebration, despite a winter season marred by low snowfall.
Anchorage starts the Fur Rendezvous Festival with only a trace of snow on the ground under unexpectedly mild winter conditions, although dump trucks delivered snow to the racecourse for event activities.
Anchorage has experienced its lowest snowfall from December to mid-February since records began in 1953, with only 4.3 inches, leading to significant changes in winter events like the Iditarod and Fur Rondy due to unseasonably warm, windy weather.
A professional snowboarder criticized the prolonged five‐hour rescue effort after an avalanche swept a backcountry skier down a mountain, cautioning that every minute matters in life‐or‐death situations.
Residents from Anchorage to Peters Creek felt a 4.3 magnitude earthquake that struck west of Anchorage, with its epicenter about 29 miles away, although no damage or injuries have been reported.
Severe weather in Southcentral Alaska has forced the Alaska Railroad to cancel weekend train services between Anchorage and Fairbanks, impacting travelers.
Puzzling on what happened to the songbirds this winter. Could this be attributed to food shortages, invasives species...avian illness? The decline should be giving everyone pause.
The wind storms have been rolling in off the North Pacific, one after another. It is the windest winter and conditions I can recall in my years in Anchorage.
Unusually high winds and temperatures in Southcentral Alaska have caused power outages, flooding, and landslides, with gusts reaching up to 100 mph and prompting closures and warnings across the region.
Schools in Anchorage closed due to high winds and rain that caused power outages and property damage in the area.
Merrill Field Airport reached 47 degrees on Monday and temperatures Tuesday remained in the high 30s and low 40s throughout Anchorage.
Just under 2 inches of new snow fell the entire month, making it one of the least snowy on record. Last season was the second snowiest on record. The winter of 2011-12 set the record for the city’s snowiest. A few winters later, Kutz said, “we dropped down to minimum snow.”
Anchorage experienced an unusually low-snow December in 2024, with only 1.9 inches recorded, contrasting sharply with the heavy snowfall of the previous year and creating ideal conditions for ice skating but challenging ones for skiing.
An unusually low snowfall has left green grass visible on Anchorage's hillside, making for an atypical non-white Christmas in Alaska.
There have virtually no songbirds at our bird feeder this month. Wondering (and a little worried) where they have all gone to, and whether this is neighborhood, or something that is being noticed more broadly.
Schools in Susitna Valley were closed due to icy roads after high winds caused power outages in Anchorage and Mat-Su. Winds reached over 40 mph, with higher gusts reported in some areas.
The temperature at one location in Anchorage rose from 16°F on December 7, to 43°F on December 8, highlighting the large temperature differences in short distances that are common during the winter months in much of Alaska due to the lack of heating from the sun and snow cover.
Unusually warm weather in early December 2024 has led to rain in Anchorage, Alaska, marking the most December rainfall since 2018, driven by a warm air surge from the eastern Pacific.
All Topics
All Countries
Any Date
Apply